Melbourne in April: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, April in Melbourne has run 11.5–20.5°C with about 69 mm of rain across the month. Here is what weather like that will carry to harvest.
Everything above is a five-year average. In the game it is this — the weather Melbourne is actually having, today.
Grow one in Melbourne's weather right now →❄️ No sub-zero nights in April in the last 5 years — frost is not the limiting factor here.
🗓️ Frost is rare and confined to midwinter (recorded around Jul 12). Most of the year is frost-free; only the coldest weeks need cover.
☀️ About 8.5 h of sunshine a day this month. Temperatures hold steady through the month.
Sow this month — when would you harvest?
Assuming you sow in mid-April, then adding up the warmth Melbourne usually gets, one day at a time — which is why some of these run past the end of the month.
| Crop | Days | Harvest around |
|---|---|---|
| 🥒 Zucchini | 233 | Dec 3 |
| 🥢 Green Beans | 226 | Nov 26 |
| 🌿 Amaranth greens | 218 | Nov 18 |
| 🌿 Rocket | 36 | May 20 |
| 🥕 Parsnip | 158 | Sep 19 |
| 🌿 Spinach | 53 | Jun 6 |
| 🥬 Cauliflower | 125 | Aug 17 |
| 🥔 Potato | 182 | Oct 13 |
| 🫘 Broad bean | 109 | Aug 1 |
| 🫛 Peas | 86 | Jul 9 |
| 🧅 Leek | 150 | Sep 11 |
| ⚪ Turnip | 59 | Jun 12 |
🌡️ Winter melon, Aubergine, Okra never accumulate enough heat outdoors in Melbourne — not in any month. Locally these need a greenhouse or a warm windowsill.
Best crops to sow now
They are all ideal for this month — the only real difference is how long each one takes, so pick whatever you want to eat.
- 🥒 Zucchini about 109 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C is too cold (ideal 16–30°C)
- 🥢 Green Beans about 101 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C is too cold (ideal 16–29°C)
- 🌿 Amaranth greens about 93 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C is too cold (ideal 16–32°C)
- 🌿 Rocket about 31 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥕 Parsnip about 107 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Spinach about 43 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Cauliflower about 80 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥔 Potato about 101 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🫘 Broad bean about 74 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🫛 Peas about 59 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Leek about 97 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- ⚪ Turnip about 44 days to harvest Recent mean 16.0°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🌶️ Okra — Recent mean 16.0°C is too cold (ideal 20–33°C)
- 🍆 Aubergine — Recent mean 16.0°C is too cold (ideal 18–32°C)
- 🍈 Winter melon — Recent mean 16.0°C is too cold (ideal 18–32°C)
Other months in Melbourne
📍 Somewhere else? Look up your own city →
Temperature and rainfall come from Open-Meteo's historical observations for Melbourne, averaged day by day over the last 5 years. Whether a crop finishes in time is worked out from its own starting temperature and heat requirement — those numbers are listed on each crop page if you want to check them.